Opinions from LEO

[Jonnyboy182]

LOL thought he wanted opinions from LEO's not people who never worked a day in the field.

To the OP, Consider what you have to offer departments. Many departments are moving away from hiring non academy graduates. It saves them a ton of money and opens the pool up quite a bit. There are quite a few academies available to those who want to go part time or even stop life for 6 months and go full time.
Secondly if you cant do that finishing up your BA will help some.

[xmikex]

thank you guys for all the info and help, but excuse my lack of knowing but how would one put himself/herself through an academy? are there specials academies i have to go through or certain places i have to go?

i tried to google it but didnt know what exactly i needed to ask. there was a reserve academy offered by the local college by me but i think with budget cuts it has beeen "temporarily" suspended until they can re open it. if anyone knows of one please let me know, i live in the ventura county/ la county.

[Samuelx]

https://post.ca.gov/basic-training-academies.aspx

Some are self-sponsored, some aren't.

[TRICKSTER]

Funny how the OP specifically asked for the opinions of LEOs and the same LEO obsessed posters that we see in OT feel the need to inject their non LEO opinion.

[Falconis]

Funny how the OP specifically asked for the opinions of LEOs and the same LEO obsessed posters that we see in OT feel the need to inject their non LEO opinion.

I was going to post something, but it seems everytime I do that, more obsessed people come in, some get banned, and the thread gets locked

[infringed711]

Funny how the OP specifically asked for the opinions of LEOs and the same LEO obsessed posters that we see in OT feel the need to inject their non LEO opinion.

Hey...I thought I made worthwhile contributions

[Jonnyboy182]

Funny how the OP specifically asked for the opinions of LEOs and the same LEO obsessed posters that we see in OT feel the need to inject their non LEO opinion.

Exactly why I said something lol. I love how people who know nothing about the job try and give advice on how to get the job.... "Well my friend got hired!" Means jack squat.

To the OP. I am not sure what academies down south offer self-sponsor. I was self sponsored in the central valley. Took me a year after graduation to find a full time slot. I was lucky (depends how you look at it) and found a p/t academy. We met Friday night and all day Sat/Sun for 11 months. (Yes I know!) I worked full time for the first 7 months then focused only on the academy for the last few till graduation. It was hard, and we lost over 50% of my class, and about 75% of the graduates now have jobs, so there is no guarantee, but it was worth it for me.

If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me, I'll do my best to answer all of them.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Funny how the OP specifically asked for the opinions of LEOs and the same LEO obsessed posters that we see in OT feel the need to inject their non LEO opinion.

Boy is that the truth. It just reinforces my theory that most of the anti LE vitriol you see in OT is posted by people who were rejected from employment in the field and have become bitter at LEO's in general because of their own shortcomings.

[Tacit Blue]

OP listen to these guys..

The academy I went to a group of 4 of us friends, only one got hired 2 years later. Guess what? He had military experience...

Use your schooling to get you a intern position with a police agency, gain references and work experience with said dept/ agency. Then apply for self sponsorship/ sponsorship. Otherwise your just another cookie cutter academy graduate looking for a job. Trust me this way will be a lot less painful...when you got a agency to bat for you..

academies aren't cheap.... Being broke and hungry as a self sponor sucks.... Colleges love hopeful young hopefuls easy $$

[IrishJoe3]

Boy is that the truth. It just reinforces my theory that most of the anti LE vitriol you see in OT is posted by people who were rejected from employment in the field and have become bitter at LEO's in general because of their own shortcomings.

LOL I've long suspected the same

[IrishJoe3]

My two cents...

School is good. While a degree may not be required for the job, it does show a higher level of education attained. Don't go for Criminal Justice like everyone else. The college classes that have been the most helpful to me in this job were english and communication studies. You can be the best cop in the world, but if you can't string two sentences together, bad guy walks. You have to be able to know how to write, as on this job you document everything. And I've found communication very helpful because on this job, thats what you do. Public speaking, interpersonal communication, body language, all that stuff is very relevant and useful to the beat cop.

Military. I'm in the U.S. Army reserves. The USAR has given me many advantages and unique opportunities. Its something I don't regret and have enjoyed. I do believe my military service did help be appear to be a more desirable candidate when I applied for law enforcement. Having said that, it can be very challenging to do both. ESPECIALLY during academy and probation. Nor will the military give you an automatic shoe-in guarantee. I was established in the military before I joined law enforcement. Understand that if you do enlist, you will be gone for quite awhile with basic training, AIT and such.

Its difficult to say what will make you more desirable. Contrary to the Calguns group-think, law enforcement hiring standards are quite high, and as you've found out its a difficult field to get in to. I know with my agency, less than 1% of those that apply pass all the testing and get accepted. And from that 1%, many will fail out/quite/be fired from the academy or probationary period.

Whatever you do, do not do nothing. Don't wait for a phone call or pin your hopes on one application. Perhaps your desired agency has a volunteer program. If the department is small enough, get out there so your face gets recognized. Continue your education. Do ride alongs. Get involved. Get to know your local department.

Good luck!

[mixicus]

OP,

Where in the process did the other dept's cut you? Was there anything specific they advised you to work on?

Truthfully, the candidate pool is deep with both pre-service and laterals. Not all applicants but enough have some or all the the following: 4 year (or more) degrees, military service, language skills, and lateral experience. Depts can be selective and only take highly qualified/experienced applicants through the process.

To beef-up your application, get your 4 year degree (in something that interests you), intern/volunteer/work as police aid, after getting your degree put yourself through an academy (if the hiring situation isn't looser), then work as a reserve.

[xmikex]

Thank you guys for all the help and input. When I was cut it was in the background section. I was never DQ'ed only told I was not wing selected at this time and there were more desirable candidates.

I'm not letting a couple agencies discourage me I'm goin to keep trying. Go back to school and perhaps do the reserves in the army.

There are a couple agencies who have explorers around me but after taking your guys advice and lookin into them it seems most of them are closed right now due to California being broke. I'm going to try to do everything I can.

As far as getting my BA any certain area I should look into? I already have my AA in CJ and wanted to diversifie and get something not CJ. Heard English was a good one since LE takes a lot of report writing. Was also thinking business in case I need a fall back plan.

When you self sponsor through an academy is it full time Monday through Friday just like if an agencie was putting you through it? If so I'm not sure i would be able to do that I have to work and I'm currently working full time

[TRICKSTER]

Thank you guys for all the help and input. When I was cut it was in the background section. I was never DQ'ed only told I was not wing selected at this time and there were more desirable candidates.

I'm not letting a couple agencies discourage me I'm goin to keep trying. Go back to school and perhaps do the reserves in the army.

There are a couple agencies who have explorers around me but after taking your guys advice and lookin into them it seems most of them are closed right now due to California being broke. I'm going to try to do everything I can.

As far as getting my BA any certain area I should look into? I already have my AA in CJ and wanted to diversifie and get something not CJ. Heard English was a good one since LE takes a lot of report writing. Was also thinking business in case I need a fall back plan.

When you self sponsor through an academy is it full time Monday through Friday just like if an agencie was putting you through it? If so I'm not sure i would be able to do that I have to work and I'm currently working full time

Going to the academy is a full time job M-F and sometimes weekends. Unless you can find somewhere where they are offering a reserve type of academy which works something like night school, working and attending the academy is pretty much impossible.

[mixicus]

"As far as getting my BA any certain area I should look into? I already have my AA in CJ and wanted to diversifie and get something not CJ. Heard English was a good one since LE takes a lot of report writing. Was also thinking business in case I need a fall back plan."

Get the degree in something that interests you or can make for a good career either as a back-up or in retirement. Several of my partners have "art-ish" degrees because that's what interested them at college. Any degree will have you writing plenty.

"When you self sponsor through an academy is it full time Monday through Friday just like if an agencie was putting you through it? If so I'm not sure i would be able to do that I have to work and I'm currently working full time "

A full-time academy is a M-F 7-4 type environment for 18 to 26 weeks depending on where you go. An extended format academy is a few weekday nights and weekends for about 10 months depending on what academy. Even the extended format is demanding. A fulltime job would present challenges in the program.